This invention relates to a print producing system and prints.
In recent years, thanks to the diffusion of personal computers (hereinafter referred to as PC""s) and the internet technology, the frequency of the cases where printing of images taken by a digital camera (hereinafter referred to as a DC), images made by a customer for himself, and a postcard, etc. are ordered by using the internet is increasing. In most cases concerning the above, the delivery of finished goods is carried out by sending them to the customers"" home or the like.
On the other hand, also in the field of the reception of orders heretofore practiced, it has sometimes occurred the case where persons, who have their home at a distant place, or are busy about their task and have no time to spare, make only the procedure of the order reception at the shop front, and have the finished goods sent by mail. Especially, in vast lands such as America and Australia, the above-mentioned way has rather become the main current because it is very difficult to come twice to the shop front. Further, in the case where postcards etc. are ordered to an external large laboratory or the like which practices concentrated processing, there is a service such that the delivery is made by mail directly from the large laboratory as soon as the processing is completed, because the delivery time can not be foreseen.
However, in the present state, for example, in the case where the order reception is made in a mini-laboratory or the like, the customer information which is necessary for mailing such as the name and the address is written down on the DP-sack or the like at first, and after the prints are finished and the packing operation is done, the customer information on the DP-sack is transferred onto the pack of the prints, which are delivered by mail. In this case, it is often produced such a trouble that wrong prints are contained or a mistake of transfer is made.
Therefore, there has been a method in which the customer information is inputted in a PC beforehand prior to the practice of printing, and a seal print made by a printer for home-use or the like is pasted on the packing sack, or some other one like this, but the above-mentioned troubles such as the putting-in of wrong prints have not been solved by it as yet, and moreover, it increases cost. On top of it, operators must take attention in checking the content of the sack and confirming the address, which extremely lowers the efficiency of operation. In order to solve this problem, it has been proposed a system in which the operations of inputting the customer information, packing, and pasting the address are fully automated; however, it takes a considerable cost for introducing the equipment, and the pasting operation has to be done manually after all; therefore, it can not be regarded as a very good system.
To overcome the abovementioned drawbacks in conventional print-producing systems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a print-producing system and a print product, which make it possible to reliably deliver the prints to customers in more efficient and simpler process than ever.
Accordingly, to overcome the cited shortcomings, the abovementioned object of the present invention can be attained by a print-producing system and a print product described as follow.
(1) A system for producing prints based on digital image data and for packing the prints, comprising: an inputting section to input a plurality of print-order information including customer-identifying information for identifying each of customers; and a print-producing section to produce the prints based on digital image data corresponding to the print-order information; wherein the prints comprise a first print including the customer-identifying information and second prints including objective images, and the prints are arranged in such an order that the first print is disposed at an uppermost position of the prints while the second prints are disposed under the first print, when a printed surface of each of said prints is regarded as an upward surface.
(2) The system of item 1, wherein the order of the first print and the second prints is obtained by controlling a printing order of the prints.
(3) The system of item 1, wherein the print-producing section comprises a first print-producing part for producing the first print and a second print-producing part for producing the second prints, and the order of the prints is obtained by controlling a printing order of the first print-producing part and the second print-producing part.
(4) The system of item 3, wherein the first print-producing part produces the first print after the second print-producing part produces the second prints, and the first print is discharged in such a manner that a printed surface of the first print faces upward.
(5) The system of item 1, wherein the prints, produced by the print-producing section, include an index print, which is arranged in the order of the prints so that the index print is disposed between the first print and the second prints.
(6) The system of item 1, wherein a size of the first print is larger than a size of the second prints including the objective images.
(7) The system of item 1, wherein the first print includes color-identifying information for identifying each of the customers.
(8) The system of item 1, wherein the customer-identifying information, for identifying each of the customers, include at least one of an address, a name, a postal code number, a telephone number of each of the customers, an ID number for identifying each of the customers and/or each of the print-order information, and a bar code for identifying each of the customers and/or each of the print-order information.
(9) The system of item 1, wherein at least one of items selected from an address, a name, a postal code number, a telephone number, and an ID number of a sender is written on the first print.
(10) The system of item 1, wherein the same image-forming apparatus records images on the first print and the second prints.
(11) The system of item 1, further comprising: a packing section to pack the prints, arranged in the order by the print producing section, in such a manner that a printed surface of the first print can be recognized by human eyes.
(12) The system of item 1, wherein the prints include a printed receipt on which billing information are written.
(13) A print product, in which prints, produced based on digital image data corresponding to print-order information including customer-identifying information for identifying each of customers, are packed to send it to each of the customers, characterized in that the prints comprise a first print including the customer-identifying information and second prints including objective images, and the prints are arranged in such an order that the first print is disposed at an uppermost position of the prints while the second prints are disposed under the first print, when a printed surface of each of said prints is regarded as an upward surface.
(14) The print product of item 13, wherein a size of the first print is larger than a size of the second prints.
(15) The print product of item 13, wherein the first print includes color-identifying information for identifying each of the customers.
(16) The print product of item 13, wherein the customer-identifying information, for identifying each of the customers, include at least one of an address, a name, a postal code number, a telephone number of each of the customers, an ID number for identifying each of the customers and/or each of the print-order information, and a bar code for identifying each of the customers and/or each of the print-order information.
(17) The print product of item 13, wherein at least one of an address, a name, a postal code number, a telephone number, and an ID number of a sender, is written on the first print.
(18) The print product of item 13, wherein the same image-forming apparatus records images on the first print and the second prints.
(19) The print product of item 13, wherein the print product is packed in such a manner that a printed surface of the first print can be recognized by human eyes.
Further, to overcome the abovementioned problems, other print-producing systems, embodied in the present invention, will be described as follow:
(20) A print producing system comprising the processes of printing digital image data from a plurality of bits of print order information including the customer identifying information and packing the obtained prints, wherein the order of arrangement of the prints packed by said print producing system, with the print recording surfaces made upside, is such one that the print including the customer identifying information for identifying the customer comes to the uppermost position of the prints.
By making such a structure, it is possible to make the uppermost print include the customer identifying information, which makes it possible to pack the prints as they are in the packing process; therefore, the print packing process is shortened, and the system is convenient.
(21) A print producing system comprising the processes of printing digital image data from a plurality of bits of print order information including the customer identifying information and packing the obtained prints, said print producing system further comprising a print image forming process for printing an image from said print order information, wherein the order of arrangement of the prints obtained by said print image forming process, with the print recording surfaces made upside, is such one that the print including the customer identifying information for identifying the customer comes to the uppermost position of the prints.
By making such a structure, it is possible to make the uppermost print include the customer identifying information, which makes it possible to pack the prints as they are in the packing process; therefore, the print packing process is shortened, and the system is convenient.
(22) A print producing system comprising the processes of printing digital image data from a plurality of bits of print order information including the customer identifying information and packing the obtained prints, said print producing system further comprising a print image forming process for printing an image from said print order information, wherein the prints obtained by said print image forming process are comprised of a print including the customer identifying information for identifying the customer, a print including the objective image which the customer has ordered, and an index-print, and the order of arrangement of the prints, with the print recording surfaces made upside, is such one that the print including the customer identifying information for identifying the customer comes to the uppermost position of the prints, the next is the index-print, and the next further and under are the image prints including the objective image.
By making such a structure, it is possible to make the uppermost print include the customer identifying information, which makes it possible to pack the prints as they are in the packing process; therefore, the print packing process is shortened, and the system is convenient. Further, because the index-print is placed next to the customer identifying information, the whole of the images can be quickly grasped.
(23) A print producing system comprising the processes of printing digital image data from a plurality of bits of print order information including the customer identifying information and packing the obtained prints, wherein the prints packed by said print producing system are comprised of a print including the customer identifying information for identifying the customer, a print including the objective image which the customer has ordered, and an index-print, and the order of arrangement of the prints, with the print recording surfaces made upside, is such one that it is placed at the topmost the print including the customer identifying information for identifying the customer, the next is the index-print, and the next further and under are the image prints including the objective image.
By making such a structure, it is possible that the topmost print includes the customer identifying information, which makes it possible to pack the prints as they are in the packing process; therefore, the print packing process is shortened, and the system is convenient. Further, because the index-print is placed next to the customer identifying information, the whole of the images can be rapidly grasped.
(24) Prints having images printed from digital image data on the basis of a plurality of bits of information including the customer identifying information, and being sent to the customer after packing [the obtained prints], said prints having at least one of the bits of the customer identifying information which indicates the identification of the customer.
By making such a structure, because the prints have the customer identifying information, the address information of the customer can be quickly obtained.
(25) A Print producing system wherein the print size of the print including the aforesaid customer identifying information for identifying the customer is larger than the print size of the image print including the objective image.
By making such a structure, in packing the prints, it can be done well, and by inserting a print identifying the customer for every order for example, the groups of the prints can be recognized for the respective orders.
(26) A print producing system wherein the aforesaid print including the customer information for identifying the customer includes identification color information for identifying the customer.
By making such a structure, the customer identifying information can be recognized more clearly.
(27) A print producing system wherein the aforesaid customer identifying information for identifying the customer is at least one of the address, the name, the postal code number, the telephone number of the customer, the ID number for identifying the customer and/or the order, the bar code for identifying the customer and/or the order.
By making such a structure, the recognition of the customer can be reliably done.
(28) A print producing system wherein, on the print on which the aforesaid customer identifying information is recorded, at least one selected from the address, name, postal code, telephone number, and ID number of the sender is also recorded.
By making such a structure, the recognition of the customer can be reliably made.
(29) A print producing system wherein the image print including the objective image which the customer has ordered and the print including the customer identifying information for identifying the customer are produced by the same image forming apparatus.
By making such a structure, in addition to the image information, the customer identifying information can be recorded by the same image forming apparatus, which makes the system convenient.
(30) A print producing system wherein the way of packing in the aforesaid packing process, with the recording surface made upside, is such one that print on which the customer identifying information is recorded can be visually confirmed.
By making such a structure, because the customer identifying information can be visually confirmed, the address of the customer can be easily recognized.
(31) Prints wherein a receipt print presenting the billing information is included in the prints packed by the aforesaid print producing system.
By making such a structure, the billing information can be known from the receipt print